


I’ll Stop The World and Melt With You

by MerthurAllure (Kirbymatsu)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Fluff, Ice Sculpting, M/M, Maybe a little angst, Reincarnation, Very Thin Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:41:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28333278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirbymatsu/pseuds/MerthurAllure
Summary: “Can’t you recognize your own creation? I’m Merlin.” He smiled.Just then Arthur’s phone started buzzing loudly in his pocket. He pulled it out to see three missed calls and a couple texts from his father. He ignored them all and calmly dialed the number to Camelot’s front office.“Gwen, please tell my father I’ve had a psychotic break and I’ll be taking my vacation early, thank you.”
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 93
Collections: Round Table Gift Exchange 2020





	I’ll Stop The World and Melt With You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yarniac](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yarniac/gifts).



> I was very excited to write a fic for yarn, but they gave me ZERO prompts to work with, so I had to do some digging in the discord server and I found this gem: 
> 
> “Arthur is a lonely ice sculptor who makes beautiful sculptures every winter. 
> 
> One winter he makes Merlin and wishes on a shooting star (or asks a witch or something) not to be so lonely this year. 
> 
> Merlin ends up being brought to life and they kind of fall in love. 
> 
> The only thing is, no matter how much they long for each other's touch, Merlin will melt if they do.
> 
> They only have until the spring until the sun comes back anyway”
> 
> I worked really really hard on this, it’s my first Merlin fic that isn’t straight up smut so I hope I did okay. I’m so so so sorry that it’s so late, but I hope you like it! Merry Christmas! 💗💗💗

Arthur grit his teeth and tried to keep his voice even. “Yes father, I’m well aware that this is our busiest time of year but I desperately need a break and you promised I could use some of my vacation time this year.”

“Yes, I’m giving you Christmas off and two whole weeks after! Your sister has already deserted us to go on early holiday in the Bahamas, we need you now more than ever.”

Arthur groaned and ran a hand down his face.

“Alright fine, but everything I have to do tomorrow can be done remotely on my laptop, so can I at least work from home?”

Uther sighed. “Fine but only for one day.”

“Thank you father!” Arthur smiled and shook his father’s hand before quickly leaving. He waved at the receptionist, Gwen, on his way out and raced to his BMW. He immediately blasted the heat and put on some Christmas music, already planning out his day at home.

Arthur had loved snow and ice for as long as he could remember, and he began making ice sculptures at a young age. His father thought it was a silly hobby, so he rarely got to practice until he had moved out on his own. Since the Pendragon company had been growing more and more lately, it had been ages since Arthur’d had the free time to work on a sculpture.

When he got home he shed his coat and shoes and slumped onto the couch. He was excited to get started on his art, but it was late and he was exhausted, so it would have to wait until tomorrow. 

After watching a couple silly game shows and having a snack, Arthur went to bed and dreamed a dream he’d had many times before:

_ A beautiful pale man with dark hair looked into his eyes as they lay in the grass. Long fingers held his face and the man smiled sadly.  _

_ “I miss you so much.” He spoke softly.  _

_ Arthur placed his own hand over the man’s and stared into his beautiful blue eyes, searching for answers. He felt like he had never met this man before, but at the same time his soul felt like half of it had finally returned.  _

_ He leaned in and kissed the man’s soft lips. His eyes closed and his mouth spoke the words without his permission, “I miss you too, Merlin.” _

  
  
  


Arthur awoke bright and early with a smile on his face. He knew exactly what he was going to sculpt today. He hadn’t made too many full-size human figures, but this dream man had been haunting him for ages and he honestly didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of sculpting him before. 

After a quick breakfast Arthur headed straight out to the large shed that he’d turned into his studio. He dragged a large ice block out of the freezer and set right to work. He worked intensely all day, only breaking for a small lunch, and by dinner time he was almost finished. He ordered some takeaway and ate it as he made some final touches.

It was late when Arthur finally declared his masterpiece finished. He put his tools away and just sat staring at it for a while. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever created and somehow he felt he couldn’t even take credit for it. 

_ Why am I longing for someone who doesn’t even exist? _ He sighed and looked out the small window into the night sky. 

“Maybe I’m just losing my mind from loneliness.” He spoke softly to himself. “I wish  _ Merlin _ was real, if even just to keep me company through the winter.” 

Right after the words left him, Arthur noticed a bright star shooting across the sky. He laughed at himself for being such a child and dragged his sculpture back into the freezer. 

Arthur had work in the morning and it was too late to dwell on things, so he simply went to bed and fell into a dreamless sleep. 

  
  
  
  


The obnoxious blaring of the alarm woke Arthur much earlier than he would’ve liked. He stretched and yawned, grabbing his phone and heading to the bathroom. After brushing his teeth and getting dressed he went out to the studio to check on his sculpture. He might be a little late for work, but something in him just had to see it again. 

He unlocked the door and walked back to the freezer. When he looked inside expecting to see his favorite work of art, he was shocked to find nothing but leftover ice blocks. 

_ Could someone have actually stolen— no that’s impossible I locked the door and the window is too small.  _

Arthur’s mind raced as he stepped back from the freezer. He turned around to search the studio and jumped when he saw someone crouched in the corner. It was a pale, thin looking man and he was completely nude. 

“Wh-what the hell are you doing in here?” Arthur tried to keep his voice steady despite the fear coursing through his veins. As he studied the man’s face he realized there was a striking resemblance to the face he had carved the day before. 

The man looked at Arthur and cocked his head. When he spoke softly Arthur’s eyes widened in shock.

“I’m… not sure.” 

His voice, though less melancholy and more confused, was the same voice Arthur had heard in his dreams. He shook his head and tried to focus. 

“Oh god, you must be freezing!” 

He took off his coat and rushed over, fear now replaced with the overwhelming need to protect. As he draped his coat over the man’s shoulders his hand slid down, fingers accidentally brushing the man’s wrist. 

The man cried out in pain and quickly backed away from Arthur. 

“I’m sorry I just—“ Arthur tried to apologize but the man cut him off.

“It’s okay, just don’t touch me please.” 

Arthur nodded and watched as the man examined his own wrist. He looked as well, and saw that there were three red marks, perfect imprints of Arthur’s fingertips. It looked almost as if the man’s skin had melted right where he’d touched. Arthur stared in awe and tried to make sense of it. 

“What is going on here? And who are you?”

“Can’t you recognize your own creation? I’m Merlin.” He smiled. 

Just then Arthur’s phone started buzzing loudly in his pocket. He pulled it out to see three missed calls and a couple texts from his father. He ignored them all and calmly dialed the number to Camelot’s front office. 

“Gwen, please tell my father I’ve had a psychotic break and I’ll be taking my vacation early, thank you.” He hung up before she could protest and looked back at  _ Merlin.  _

“I honestly have no idea what’s going on, but I guess we should get you inside and get you some clothes.” 

Merlin nodded and happily followed Arthur to the house. Arthur led them to his bedroom and searched through his armoire for some old clothes. He pulled out a soft t-shirt from college and some grey sweatpants, handing them to Merlin along with some clean briefs. 

Merlin took them gratefully and immediately shucked off the coat. Arthur blushed and averted his eyes. 

“You’re the one that made me without any clothes.” Merlin laughed. 

Arthur didn’t even know how to respond to that so he just turned around. 

“I’ll just be waiting downstairs.” 

  
  
  
  


A few minutes later Merlin joined Arthur in the sitting room. He looked far too attractive in the old clothes and Arthur had to force himself to stop staring. 

“Well,” he said after clearing his throat, “I’m not sure what to do now. Are you hungry? Do you even eat?” 

“Starving actually!” Merlin grinned. “I’d kill for a fry-up.” 

“I think I’ve only got eggs and toast.” Arthur said guiltily. 

“Better than nothing I guess.” 

Arthur nodded and did as he was asked. Even though he felt a strong need to take care of Merlin in every way possible, something in the back of his mind told him that their roles should be reversed and someone of Arthur’s status should never be doting on anyone. 

Arthur immediately scrunched his nose up at the thought.  _ Ugh, father must be rubbing off on me. _

When Arthur returned with the food Merlin was sitting on the couch in front of the tv, flipping through channels. 

“Wait, if you’re made of ice how do you know how that works?”

“Do I look like ice to you Arthur?” He deadpanned, “besides, I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m pretty sure I’ve been around for centuries, just not always in human form.” His eyes got a faraway look like he was trying to remember something.

“Okay well then why be human now, and why come to me?”

Merlin shrugged, “Your guess is as good as mine!” 

Arthur rolled his eyes and set down the plates on the coffee table. He grabbed them some tea to go with and settled in beside Merlin. 

Merlin had chosen some cheesy hallmark Christmas movie, much to Arthur’s chagrin, and they watched in silence as they ate. When the movie ended Merlin helped Arthur clear away the dishes. 

“Well, what do we do now?” Arthur asked. 

“Just enjoy your time off I guess?” Merlin shrugged. “Something tells me I won’t be here for too long, so I’d like to stay here if you don’t mind. I’d bugger off somewhere else but I don’t have any money so…”

“No, of course. You’ll stay here as long as you need. Even though I have no idea how this happened, I  _ am _ the one that carved you, so I’d say that makes you my responsibility.” 

Merlin beamed at him and nodded. 

They spent the rest of the day watching other Christmas movies that Arthur pretended not to love. Arthur complained about every silly plot hole and argued about all the ridiculous cliches, but found himself genuinely enjoying their banter and feeling more relaxed than he had in his entire life. 

They had Arthur’s last TV dinners for lunch and had to order a takeaway pizza for dinner, and soon enough it was getting late. Arthur tried not to stare at the lean muscles in Merlin’s arms and stomach as he yawned and stretched. 

“It’s quite late, why don’t I help you get settled in the guest room?” 

“That sounds perfect, thank you.” Merlin smiled sleepily. 

Arthur gave him fresh clean sheets and showed him where the bathroom was. 

“I don’t have a spare toothbrush but I can pick one up in the morning when I go out for groceries.” 

“Thanks Arthur, I really appreciate all this.” 

Arthur felt a familiar tug in his chest. He didn’t trust his voice so he just nodded and left Merlin on his own. 

  
  
  
  
  


Arthur’s body was used to waking up early for work, so despite not setting his alarm he awoke right when it would’ve gone off. He laid there for a while trying to go back to sleep but eventually gave up and got out of bed. The guest room door was still shut, Merlin presumably still sleeping, so Arthur left him a note and headed out to the grocery store. 

When Arthur returned home with bags of food and a toothbrush, he was confused to find the place decked out in festive colors. There was garland draped across the walls and up the stairway railing, and little snowmen figurines on the table along with a porcelain nativity scene that he hadn’t seen in years. He almost thought he’d walked into the wrong house until he rounded the corner and saw Merlin. 

Merlin was trying to piece together an old artificial Christmas tree and humming “Let it Snow”. Arthur couldn’t help but smile as he set down his bags and Merlin’s face lit up when he noticed him. 

“Welcome back! It looked a little depressing in here so I took the liberty of finding your decorations and putting them up.” 

Arthur raised an eyebrow and looked genuinely offended. “It does  _ not  _ look depressing in here.” 

“Well yeah, not anymore!” Merlin smiled then went back to fiddling with the tree. “We’ll have to get a real tree though, this just isn’t gonna cut it.” 

“Absolutely not, we do not need a tree.”

Merlin looked up at him through his lashes and pouted like a child. Arthur was powerless against that face.

  
  
  


They spent the morning picking out the perfect Christmas tree. 

After breakfast they went out to the nearest tree lot. They had figured out that Merlin could be touched through clothing with no consequences, so they bundled him up in Arthur’s spare winter clothes. He had a thick coat, pants, gloves, a scarf, a hat, and boots that were just a little tight. As long as no one touched his face he would be fine. 

They searched for hours, Merlin insisting on finding the perfect tree. The one he finally settled on was huge and took ages to tie down on Arthur’s car. After that Arthur bought some new baubles and some string lights and they went home. 

It was already past lunchtime and they were both starving, so they took a break to eat before setting up the tree. Arthur brought in the tree and it’s stand and put it up in the sitting room. Merlin put on Christmas music and put the lights on the tree while Arthur made them some eggnog. 

They decorated the tree together and spent the rest of the day lazing about and getting to know each other. Merlin didn’t remember much about his life, so they mostly talked about Arthur. Arthur didn’t mind though, he was just glad for the company. 

  
  
  
  


It was a few days later when Arthur noticed that Merlin seemed quiet and withdrawn. He tried to just ignore it, hoping the mood would pass, but when nightfall came with barely a word spoken between them he had to voice his concern. 

“Merlin, is everything alright?” Arthur asked as he sat beside him on the couch. 

“Yeah it’s just, well, it’s nothing really.”

“It’s not nothing if you’ve been thinking about it all day.” 

Merlin sighed. “Look, this might sound crazy,”

“Merlin, I made you out of ice and you magically came to life, I don’t think anything can phase me at this point.”

“Okay, fair. Anyways, the star came to me last night and she told me that I only have until spring in this body.”

“The star?”

“Yes, Freya, she’s the star you wished on to bring me to life.”

Arthur blushed and looked away. “I didn’t think you knew about that.”

“Yeah, she told me.” Merlin smiled shyly. “But the point is, I only have until the first day of spring, that’s not a lot of time.”

Arthur took a deep breath and let the information sink in.

“And what exactly happens in spring Merlin?”

Merlin bit his lip and avoided eye contact.

“When the sun rises on the 20th of March, I melt.” 

Arthur tried not to let the panic and devastation show on his face. He knew from the beginning that this situation was only temporary, and he was a fool for starting to get attached so quickly. They sat in silence for what felt like ages before Arthur finally spoke. 

“That’s still months away, let’s just enjoy it while we can.” He squeezed Merlin’s knee and looked into his eyes with a smile. 

Merlin smiled back with a blush. “Okay. D’you think we could go to the store tomorrow and pick up supplies to make sugar cookies?” 

“Sure.” Arthur chuckled. 

  
  
  


The next day was spent baking cookies and watching Christmas specials. It was disgustingly domestic and sweet, but even Arthur couldn’t bring himself to hate it. 

After that they did every cliché holiday activity Merlin could think of, and soon enough it was Christmas morning. 

Arthur made them some hot cocoa and they sat by the fire. Merlin’s face fell when Arthur pulled out a gift box. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get you anything Arthur.” 

“It’s fine Merlin, it’s nothing special really. I just picked it up when I was shopping for my father.” 

“Okay.” Merlin smiled and began tearing the tape to open the box. He lifted the top and pushed aside the tissue paper to reveal an expensive looking brown leather coat. He pulled it out along with a bright red neckerchief. 

“I know I don’t really know your style, but I felt like this would suit you better than my old clothes.” Arthur explained. 

“They’re absolutely perfect, thank you!” Merlin immediately tried on the jacket and tied the neckerchief around his neck. 

Arthur watched in awe. He had been right, the look fit Merlin perfectly. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he didn’t have time to think on it. Merlin pulled Arthur into a crushing hug, careful not to let their faces or hands touch. 

“Thank you so much.” He whispered. 

Arthur felt his face heat up and squeezed Merlin tight before pulling back. 

“You’re welcome.” 

They sat there awkwardly for a moment before Merlin cleared his throat and stood up. 

“Why don’t I go make us some breakfast?” 

“Sure, if you don’t mind.”

Merlin just nodded and made his escape to the kitchen. 

  
  
  


To Arthur’s relief, the tension dissipated quickly as they enjoyed their breakfast. It turned out Merlin was actually quite good at cooking. They shared a simple, quiet Christmas together, but it was the best one Arthur had ever had. 

  
  
  
  
  


Later that night, after Merlin had gone to sleep, Arthur snuck out to his studio. 

He walked around the outside and leaned against the wall with the window, looking up at the stars. He stood still for a while as his breath puffed out in smokey clouds. 

“Freya?” He started, unsure of himself. “If you’re listening, I’d like to change my wish.” 

He waited for a response, feeling stupider by the second. He was just about to leave when he saw a bright shooting star. There was a flash of light and suddenly a beautiful woman stood before him. 

She had dark hair, and skin even paler than Merlin’s, and there seemed to be a white glow around her. She gave Arthur a kind smile as he stared at her in disbelief. 

“I’m sorry Arthur, but your wish has already been granted, there’s no changing it now.” 

“Please,” Arthur begged. “He used to be human before, why can’t he just stay human now?” 

“It’s simply not up to me Arthur. Merlin has to figure this out for himself.” 

“Figure  _ what  _ out? Can’t we at least do something to help him?” 

Freya placed a delicate hand on his shoulder. “Worry not sire, it will all work out. Some things are just fated to be.” 

Arthur squinted in confusion, but before he could question it the woman faded away. 

He sighed and kicked at the snow. All he could do now was try to enjoy his time with Merlin and hope for a miracle. 

  
  
  
  


***

  
  
  
  


Arthur celebrated New Year’s Eve for the first time in ages. 

After Christmas he had to return to work, but he somehow convinced his father to let him only work four days a week for the foreseeable future. 

Merlin insisted they ring in the new year together and Arthur easily agreed. They walked around the market, went ice skating (which Arthur pointed out seemed a little ironic), and ended the day watching the fireworks. Arthur never wanted to kiss anyone more than he wanted to kiss Merlin at midnight. 

They held hands through their gloves on the walk home. 

  
  
  
  


******

  
  
  
  


Valentine’s Day was incredibly cheesy. 

Arthur asked Merlin to be his valentine, they ate dinner at an expensive restaurant, and they gorged themselves on chocolates all night. 

Arthur tried his best not to dwell on how attached he was becoming.

  
  
  
  


*******

  
  
  
  


Time passed at a remarkable speed, and before they knew it it was the night of March 19th. 

They laid out a blanket on the grass behind the shed and just sat together, watching the night sky. They agreed to spend Merlin’s last few hours just being together with no distractions. 

Arthur held Merlin’s gloved hand and tried to keep his emotions at bay. He closed his eyes and squeezed Merlin’s fingers. 

It was late and they were both exhausted, but they were determined to stay awake until sunrise. At some point they ended laying down on their sides facing each other. 

Arthur felt himself slowly slipping into unconsciousness, his eyelids refusing to stay open. He was halfway into a dream when he heard Merlin whisper “I love you”, and felt the warmth of Merlin’s lips against his cheek. There was a blinding light, and then the dark nothingness of sleep. 

  
  
  
  


.

.

.

Arthur expected to wake up to a puddle of melted ice, but when he opened his eyes with his heart in his throat, he found Merlin staring back at him and stroking his hair. 

“What? How?”

“Well it turns out I got to make a wish too.” Merlin smiled. 

Without a second thought Arthur surged forward and crashed their lips together. 

When they kissed a million memories came rushing back, and Arthur realised that Merlin wasn’t the only one who had forgotten their life. Now that the fog had lifted, he vowed to never forget another single moment with Merlin.

“I love you too, Merlin.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you thank you thank you to my lovely beta, withlightning 💗   
> and thank you to everyone that cheered me on 💗   
> and of course thank you so much to the mods for setting this up! 💗


End file.
